The Old Burial Ground nestled between Pilgrim Church and the Southborough Library has been a place of fascination for me for as long as I can remember. The cemetery has stones dating back as far as 1730. It was at the town’s very first Town Meeting in 1727 that the land was set aside as a final resting place for our earliest settlers. So much history in one small parcel.
Wander through the graveyard and you’ll see familiar names like Fay, Johnson, Newton, and Onthank. You’ll find the grave of Nathan Stone, pastor of Southborough’s first church. You’ll also see the remnants of family tragedies. Ferdinand Collins who died in 1828 aged “3 years & 3 days.” Two infant boys buried together in a single grave in 1817. Soldiers, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, many taken before their time.
I took a stroll through the cemetery on a recent crisp November morning, camera in hand. Here are some of my photos from that day. (Click an image to enlarge.)
Read more about the history of the Old Burial Ground on the Southborough Historical Society website.
